Zeke Turner is a seventh grader who hangs out at the Boonslick Regional Library in Sedalia every other Saturday for his Dungeons and Dragons campaign. This week, he’s trying to defeat a witch and her moose.
“We beat up a lady in her pet moose, and I killed the shrub that was gonna tell us a lot of important information,” Zeke said. “But no, I didn't really get to that before I killed him.”
These campaigns, led by Dungeon Master and library clerk James Bowlin, are what researchers call third places. In academic speak, third places are “the physical places where people meet, gather, and interact outside of home and work,” according to a study in the Journal of Rural Studies.
Matthew Hoke is a clerk at Boonslick who grew up with the library as his third place; his mom was a librarian. So, he’s spent a lot of time around books.
“You need a place to be … but you have to have a place to go,” Hoke said. “Being able to spend time with your friends that isn't in as much of a controlled setting.”
Schools are regimental, Hoke said. Children are told where to be and what to do, and at home, parents do the same. He added that kids need third places to figure out who they are away from their parents, which is exactly what Zeke does.
“It just kind of feels awkward if your parents are always hovering around you,” Zeke said. “It's kind of weird to be, like, hanging out with all your friends and then your mom or dad is right there, too.”
Bowlin said kids learn a lot when they’re on their own.
“When they're here, I like to think they feel like they're among friends,” he said. “I hope they feel that way.”
The library is just one third place that gives kids the space to learn and spend time on their own.
Joni Spalding, the children’s librarian at Boonslick says third places offer kids a sense of independence and a space to be imaginative.
“When you can't let them go out and do that, and kind of be with their friends in a way that they're not being watched so specifically, I think that is going to help them with their imagination and help with their writing, you know, because they're allowed to think outside the box,” Spalding said.
When third places grow, people widen their social circles. Unfortunately, it’s much more difficult to access these places in rural communities. The pandemic had severe effects on third places, shutting down spaces like the library for some time.
The study by the Journal of Rural Studies stresses that a lack of third places can lead to a decline in quality of life, social health and opportunities for socialization, making places like Boonslick more important than ever.
Children need places to go to learn and exist independently, according to Spalding, Hoke and Bowlin.
The biweekly DnD campaign in Sedalia is just one third place for kids, and it’s an important one.
Zeke, his two friends, and their dungeon master played for two hours. The group managed to kill the moose, but they’ll have to deal with the witch in their next session.
Whatever happens, they’ll be back in two weeks to this third place at Boonslick Regional Library for their next quest.
